Why Nick Gardewine didn't believe it when he was told he'd been drafted by the Texas Rangers

7/12

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Joe Jackson, C (160th overall): School: The Citadel in Charleston, S.C. Height-Weight: 6-1, 190 pounds. Scouting report: Named to the 2013 Louisville Slugger All-America third team after leading the Bulldogs with a .386 average (88-228), 67 RBI, 66 runs scored, and 19 doubles, to go along with 13 home runs. Jackson was previously selected by Kansas City in the 50th round of the 2010 June draft and is the great-great-great-nephew of former White Sox outfielder “Shoeless” Joe Jackson.

When the Texas Rangers made junior college pitcher Nick Gardewine their
seventh-round pick on Thursday, the hurler couldn’t believe it. He has his dad
to thank for that.

Gardewine told the Effingham Daily News that his father had been jokingly
telling him he’d been drafted all day, and when his dad said the Rangers had
picked him 220nd overall, he brushed it off as another gag.

“I thought my dad was joking when he said it,” Gardewine told the paper.

“I looked down [at my computer], and I saw he wasn't joking … It's a great feeling,
obviously. It was a big surprise, I wasn't even ready for it.”

Adding to his surprise was the fact that the Rangers hadn’t even contacted
Gardewine on draft day. The pitcher said he had heard from San
Diego and Seattle, but that he hadn’t
heard from Texas since he worked out for them
in Peoria, Ill., earlier in the week.

“I left [Peoria]
thinking they wouldn't draft me,” Gardewine said. “They were talking a little
lower money than what we were asking. They ended up offering more.”

Gardewine, who just finished his freshman year at Kaskaskia
College in Illinois, told the paper Thursday that it
was a “toss-up” whether he’d opt to go pro or stay for his sophomore season,
and that he’d have a better idea after meeting with a team scout Thursday
night.

Apparently, Gardewine heard what he needed. The Rangers announced they had
agreed to a deal with him on Sunday.

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